Bartley returned to the house, frustrated. His attempts to find the original architects and any plans had failed. Then it struck him that the plans should actually be in the house, as was the case with the plans of his own estate. He felt foolish for not thinking of it earlier. So much time had been wasted.

"John, we need to search the library for any drawings on the house. I am sure the clues lie there," he hadn't even waited to be announced as he drew open the doors.

"Come on man; I need your help. Lady Henrietta needs you to do something. You can't sit there feeling sorry for yourself."

John stood up. Bartley was right. Sitting and fretting wasn't finding his beloved.

Bartley explained that he thought the house might have secret passages. As they took up their positions, the duke and the earl began looking at the oldest books in the library. They began to cough with the dust that accumulated on the books that hadn't been touched for decades. Hours went by as they opened book after book, hoping for some revelation that would solve the mystery of the house.

"I think I've found something," John exclaimed as though he had just found Lady Henrietta herself.

John placed the schematics out on the table and they studied them. There was no mention of any secret passages.

"I suppose it was a long shot. Another story without any substance," Bartley was so disappointed.

"Excuse me, Your Grace, Mary, Lady Henrietta's maid, would like a word with you," Andrews stood at the doorway with a very timid Mary behind him.

"Begging your pardon, Your Grace, My Lord, but I thought you should know. I haven't seen Lady Amelia or Lucille for quite some time."

John and Bartley exchanged glances as they raced up to Amelia's quarters. There was no sign of either woman.

"You don't think…" Bartley ran across Lady Henrietta's room, but the police officer who had returned to his station guarding the room wouldn't let him through.

The duke lost his composure, "This is my house, and I shall enter the room. Get Inspector Grimshaw this instant. Lady Amelia and her maid have gone missing.”

The young officer bolted to find the Inspector as the two men entered the room. Daylight was fading, but even with the lamps, they saw nothing new. The room was exactly as it had been when Lady Henrietta had gone missing.

"What is happening?" Bartley was frightened and now had insight to how John must have felt with Lady Henrietta's disappearance.

With the inspector's arrival, Bartley left the room. This couldn't be happening. Something was missing. He was overlooking some piece of evidence, but he didn’t know what it was.

"So more have gone missing, eh?"

Bartley was startled by the sound of a croaky voice and turned to see the old man that Lady Henrietta and Lady Amelia had met on their first night there.

"Where did you come from, old man?" Bartley didn't know what to make of him.

"I see things. I hear things. Is it that pretty lady that was here a few nights ago?"

Bartley didn't know why, but he felt compelled to answer.

"Yes, both ladies and a maid have disappeared. What do you know of the place?"

The inspector called Bartley, distracting him. As he looked back waiting for the old man to reply, all he said was "Look outside," and shuffled away again.

"Coming, inspector," Bartley said.

Bartley joined the inspector and John mid-conversation.

"This is a most unusual case, and I have to say, it confounds me, Your Grace. How three women have disappeared from a room defies logic,” the inspector said, as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. He turned to Bartley, “The duke tells me that you have been considering the possibility of a secret chamber of sorts. It seems to make the most sense. There are no signs of forced entry and no signs of anybody leaving the room.”

John chimed in, “If this is true, why haven’t the ladies found a way to free themselves?”

Bartley said, "Well, we have been looking in the archives, but there is no mention of any extra space. My plan was to look around the outside, but I am afraid that we are running out of time, especially for Lady…" Bartley stopped when he saw the look of fear on John's face.

"May I have a look at your findings, My Lord? Perhaps we can figure something out together," said the inspector.

Bartley no longer had any interest in keeping the information about the secret passageways to himself. The situation was becoming much more serious as more ladies had gone missing. Bartley led the inspector to the study, who launched a plan for his men to search the grounds more thoroughly, although Bartley wasn't quite sure this was any kind of plan. But he couldn't sit by; he had found the love of his life, and he wasn't about to let her vanish.

It had begun to snow again, and the inspector worried that it could be covering an entrance, which would otherwise be seen. Being a terraced house, they only had the front and back of the house to deal with. The front of the house was on a sidewalk, and the servants’ entrance was into the basement at the side.

"I wonder if there's anything in what that earl said about a secret passage. It would have to lead somewhere, next door, perhaps? I wonder." The inspector looked up at the houses on either side of the duke's home. Was there a possibility the missing women were trapped in them?

Amelia had made her way back to Lucille and Lady Henrietta who was now conscious, although barely so. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Did you find a way out, m’lady?" Lucille asked having got over her fright of her mistress' return without the lamp.

"I could have gone farther, but I wanted to check on you, too. Hen, you gave us such a fright. Don't try to talk. Conserve your energy. Lucille, let's call out for help. Lady Henrietta's voice is far too weak," Amelia encouraged, and they began to scream.

Amelia knew it was pointless, but she had to try. The whole point of a secret chamber was not to be found, and therefore, not to be heard, but she wasn't about to just give up. She was worried about Lady Henrietta, and while she was glad the darkness would disguise her fears, she couldn't help but be concerned as Henrietta was barely able to speak. She needed to find a way for them to get out now.

"I have to find a way out, Lucille. I'll just keep going. Whatever you do, do not leave Lady Henrietta's side," she had found Lucille's hands in the darkness and squeezed them.

"I will find help, I promise you," Lady Amelia at least knew what to expect now. She just had to keep going. The tunnel led somewhere. She just hoped there would be someone at the other end to hear her.

"M’lady, take this," Lucille handed her the fireplace poker in the darkness, "you might be able to attract attention with it."

"Good idea, Lucille. Pray we will be found before it's too late," Lady Amelia ventured off again, with all of her senses aware that she had to be brave for the other women.

She wanted to be strong, but she couldn't help the tears from streaming down her face. There was so much she wanted to experience in life and the fear of never being found was a real possibility in her mind.

If only she had allowed love into her life. She should have been nicer to Bartley. He was amusing, and her father would have liked him. She could imagine her father saying that Bartley was exactly what she needed. There was a humor to him that would nicely complement Amelia’s stoic nature. Amelia’s thoughts led to poor Henrietta, who instead of being celebrated on her wedding day, would be missing. Amelia felt sorry for Lucille. If she hadn't lured Lucille into her employ, the girl would still be looking after the vain Duchess of Hamptonshire, instead of stuck in a horrible place inside the wall.

Amelia was thankful for her strong nerves. She would need them. With the fireplace poker outstretched to guide her, she hit it off what she presumed was the wall on either side. She had come a little farther than previously, but she hoped it wasn't a dead-end. With no light, she couldn't tell how far the passage went, but she kept swaying the fireplace poker from side to side in front of her. It clattered off the walls.

She was finding it difficult to move at any pace as it was harder to breathe, and it was so hot. She had to stop and take a breath, as she wiped her brow, which glistened with sweat. She called out, it made her feel like she was doing something, but the sound just reverberated around the tunnel.

"How will we ever escape?" Amelia spoke out loud, as she slid to the ground in frustration. She let out one, loud scream.